Une tarte à la crème
Meaning: A tired cliché trotted out as though it were an argument.
Language: French
Literally: A cream tart
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: In Molière's L'École des femmes a character repeats the phrase as his entire contribution, and the critics who mocked the play were then mocked for repeating themselves. The custard pie of slapstick is a later and separate joke.
More idioms — Food & Drink
- Décrocher la timbale — To carry off the prize.
- Trier sur le volet — To hand-pick with great care.
- Tomber dans les pommes — Suddenly losing consciousness — possibly derived from the older expression 'être dans les…
- Avoir la moutarde qui monte au nez — To be getting angry.
- Pédaler dans la semoule — To be confused and getting nowhere.
- Raconter des salades — To tell lies or tall tales.
More French idioms
- À tue-tête — At the top of one's voice.
- Dire ses quatre vérités à quelqu'un — To tell someone exactly what is wrong with them.
- Avoir la main verte — To have a gift for growing plants.
- Entrer dans le vif du sujet — To get to the heart of the matter.
- Une vérité de La Palice / Une lapalissade — A statement so obvious it is comic — a truism.
- Prendre des vessies pour des lanternes — To be grossly deceived about something.
From our tongue twisters
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? — A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. — An 's' / 'si' minefield.
- Dans ta tente ta tante t'attend. — A gentle 'ta / ten / tan / t'' warm-up that sounds faster than it reads.
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